“Police are investigating a bicyclist’s claim that he was dragged more than 200 feet through Central Park by a SUV driven by a road-raging Fox News writer.

Brian Dooda, 34, says he was knocked from his bike last week and forced to cling to the hood of the SUV driven by Don Broderick, a former New York Post reporter who now works for Rupert Murdoch’s cable channel.”

according to this popular news blog an eye witness on the scene had this to say:

“It was a bizarre sight … a cyclist was on the hood, shouting at the driver, to please please stop the car. That cyclist kept shouting to the guy to stop, he was saying/shouting, “You could have killed me. Stop, Please stop. This is my life.” something like that. We saw his bike in the road, left behind, as the SUV drove on, with the cyclist on his hood.”

Apparently Mr. Dooba was riding in the roadway loop which is open to motor vehicles during designated times. I can think of easier ways to express ones opinions without resorting to using you truck as a violent weapon. I can also think of other roadways that motorists can use through Central Park designed specifically for motor vehicle traffic. There are 4 major roadways that cut through the park and are not involved with the cycling loop. They have different entrances on the East side vs the West side but they are roughly at 96th, 86th, 81st and 72nd. Also illustrated on this web page by TA. I’ve often asked myself while riding the park loop, “Why exactly do cars and trucks need to drive o n this loop?”

Streetsblog, recently used this recent malicious act of “road rage” driver to highlight the ongoing struggle in trying to make Central Park car-free.

“Over the years, Central Park’s recreational users have clawed back much car-free time, literally hour by hour. But as someone who has spent thousands of hours out on the loop road, I can report that clashes between drivers and park-goers — ranging from horn honking to curses to threats — occur with unsurprising frequency. The Dooda-Broderick incident made it beyond the park’s boundaries only because of the egregiousness of Broderick’s alleged actions. It stands as the latest stark reminder that Central Park’s loop road cannot be both a refuge and a commuting corridor.
The article went on to state the only thing stopping a car-free park according to sources at City Hall, is an increase of spill over traffic from Harlem.“Sources within City Hall say that potential spillover traffic in Harlem is the only thing standing between New Yorkers and a car-free park. In fact, Harlem is the neighborhood that has the most to gain from a car-free park. A 2007 Transportation Alternatives study found that 57 percent of private car traffic using the park’s northern entrances originates outside of Harlem. Closing the park to traffic would remove hundreds of cars from Harlem’s streets and reduce tailpipe emissions in the neighborhood by about 3,240 pounds each day.

You know, the 4 transverses you mention (96th, 86th, 81st, and 66th – not 72nd) are used by cyclists. Just like cars, cyclists need a way to get across the park legally without using the circuitous park drive. To bike on these narrow roadways does feel dangerous and scary, but doing so is necessary for crossing town.
But this is all just tangential to your main point that cars absolutely do not belong in Central Park. Right on!